Festive Foreign Film Fans

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For the Festive Fans, Christmas is an international journey. We venture into foreign lands, finding the holiday in the most unexpected places. We love discovering how various cultures celebrate the season, and learning about the unfamiliar traditions, strange customs, and the diverse foods that make it unique in every corner of the globe. The spirit of Christmas, as we have seen, is able to ignore borders, cross oceans, and overcome different languages.

But after so many of these adventures abroad, the Fans are coming home.  Despite the universal a...

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It's the final episode of our 2026 Creepsmas adventure, and the Festive Fans are stopping off in Croatia, a country that seems almost too beautiful to be frightening. For our grand finale, we're going to watch The Uncle, a psychological mind game that takes the most wonderful time of the year and gives it a distinctly disturbing twist.

What better way to close out a month devoted to the dark side of the festive season than with a film that turns Christmas into something unnerving? Our favorite holiday is...

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It is October, our second favorite time of year, where we like to skip the colorful lights and joyful noise for a few episodes and veer off down a much darker and deserted alleyway. The Festive Fans feel like Jack Skellington during this time. We have our feet firmly planted in the world of Christmas, surrounded by the traditions, music, and films we love.  However, we are still intrigued enough to visit with the monsters and the scary things that exist around the world. We want to discover places where K...

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This is not your father’s typical Festive Fans show. We're trading our usual sentimental exploration of Christmas nostalgia for something more rugged, more physical, and a lot more harrowing. While we typically are on a pleasant exploration searching for festive holiday cheer, this one is more like a challenging expedition. So, lace up your hiking boots and come join us. We’re heading for Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous country where the scenery is breathtaking, the roads are nerve-racking, and this podcast is reaching new heights.  It is a country of enorm...

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It seems remarkable that after four years of traveling the world in search of Christmas, the Festive Fans hadn’t been to Wales yet.  This is especially strange since Wale’s own famed poet, Dylan Thomas, wrote one of the most beloved celebrations of childhood Christmas ever written, the epic poem A Child’s Christmas in Wales.  While we were wandering across continents, Wales—a country full of music, fireplaces, and cozy stone cottages—has been patiently waiting for us to discover it.

Perhaps we assumed Wales was too obvious...

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The Festive Fans are starting out the fourth season with Venezuela, but we are feeling a bit sheepish.  We love the country but honestly feel like we just showed up with an uninvited guest or were overserved at the Christmas party.  I mean what do you say to a country that your President invaded in the middle night, arrested their President, and now he wants their oil.  It really seems like a social faux pas.  We hate showing up to this episode empty-handed when the featured country has clearly been snub...

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When we last left our Festive Fans, the dynamic duo faced almost certain doom. Their wives had been swayed by the beefy charms of ancient hunks Rudolph Valentino and Peter the Great.  The Baby Pool Time Machine was on the fritz, and their taste buds were signaling a full-blown meltdown and beer emergency!  What to do? 

With a romantic reunion seemingly impossible, were the boys trapped in some kind of demented Hallmark holiday film?  Was this a classic time-traveling rom-com catastrophe?  Most importantly, could Mark and Bob still survi...

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Oops.  We goofed but it is all fixed!

Sorry we're late.  We just got back from traveling --- time traveling.  Oh, and apologies for the sound in our cooking segment.  We were too excited baking to speak into our microphones.  Also, thank you to Sue Macinnes and La Belle Vie for her outstanding hospitality and holding our hands through the piragi process.

Onto our Star-Spangled Spectacular.  We decided to piggyback on the recent 4th of July hype.  We know the 250th birthday of the United...

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What better way for the Festive Fans to celebrate the end of our third season, than by abandoning the snow-covered streets, roaring fireplaces, and winter landscapes of most holiday movies, books and songs to travel down south.  It is June, so we are off to a place known for its tropical warmth, rich cultural heritage and vibrant holiday music and dancing.  We wanted a party-like atmosphere, so we have selected a country that blends Spanish, Indigenous, African, and Caribbean influences, creating a unique and different Christmas experience.  Despite the warm tem...

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Well, the Festive Fans have been toiling for three years, searching out celebrations, rich traditions, and delicious food from all over the world.  We find joy in all of the countries we visit, as we continue our search for the happiest and most magical places on Earth.  Like climbing a mystical mountain, we may have finally reached the pinnacle. Our podcast about the Philippines does not just describe a destination, it is a culture that embraces Christmas with unmatched passion and heart. Few countries celebrate the Yuletide season with as mu...

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For this episode, our journey unfolds under warm African skies and rolling green hills, as we venture out of the lingering winter cold and into the famous mountains of Volcanoes National Park.  Instead of tinsel and lights, we are surrounded by dormant volcanoes, dense rainforest, and bamboo groves.  This is the land where Dian Fossey lived for 18 years, studying and protecting the mountain gorillas. The Festive Fans are in Rwanda, the land of Gorillas in the Mist.

The same mist that once cloaked Fossey’s research camps still ling...

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The Festive Fans are feeling a little tired.  We have been woken up by a little one, relatively new to the world. Like watching any baby, it can be a little messy, unpredictable, and joyful.  Our sense of time must have disappeared completely — April 6th feels exactly like April 18th — but we have been operating on very little sleep.  So join us tonight, as we tend to the care of the very young nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country that emerged from the war in the 1990s and is just an infant...

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As we arrive, the snow falls softly over the Alps, blanketing the jagged peaks and pine-covered slopes. This is a place of such breathtaking winter scenery, it is like a living snow globe.  There is a chill in the air but, even more so, there is the hardy aroma of … melted cheese.  Yes, this episode the Festive Fans are visiting Switzerland, with its small mountain villages and wooden chalets glowing with light, it is a special place that always feels like Christmas. 

Switzerland is so picturesque, the whole count...

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Said the night wind to the Festive Fan

"Want to go where I go?"

An island in the sea, Festive Fan

"Want to go where I go?"

Witness Christmas, where it’s communist

They just keep it hidden from sight

They just keep it hidden from sight

Wow.  Spring has sprung.  The weather is warmer, the grass is greener, and two hairy bears have emerged from hibernation.  Yes, Mark and Bob are back and awake.  They are re...

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As we kick off the second half today, you might be thinking that it is nearly the end of February and we are still not done with the Christmas celebration. We know it’s been a little bit of time, but we really wanted to share the recording with those who weren’t able to attend. There was something electric about this year’s live show — the space, the stage, the lights, the crowd, the music — but what really transformed the night into something unforgettable was our special guests. We invited th...

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Another two-part episode?  What’s next - a crossover podcast with “Deck Hallmark”?  

Nope, we decided to start 2026 with big things.  First, we kicked off January with our super-stuffed England episodes filled with extras and special guests.  Now we are presenting our recent live Christmas event in audio form. We don’t want you to experience it secondhand, so we are trying to convey the gestures, reactions, and energy that you can’t see or feel.  Since we can’t come over to your homes to pantomime the chaos of a live e...

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Hey, Festive Fans, let nothing ye dismay, we’re back with Part Two of our super-sized Festive Foreign Film Fans Special Royal English Christmas/New Year's Triple-Stuffed Podcast Episode Extravaganza!  Phew, if you think that’s a lot to say, just consider the exciting, action-packed show we’re describing.  It is a two-part journey across England and, along the way, we unwrap traditions old and new, share some of their Christmas music, eat Latvian piragi, and listen as our guests recall their own Christmas memories.  This episode is filled with real tidi...

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Wait, don’t think the holidays are over!  They don’t have to be.  It may be the end of the 12 Days of the Christmas, but the Festive Fans want to keep the party going, all year!  We are starting off 2026 with a visit to jolly old England, the granddaddy of the Christmas holiday.  It is so merry, we needed an expanded two-part episode, with special guests, extra movies, and more general celebration.  Just what we need for our post-Christmas blues!

Can we think of an international location more Chri...

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Better late than never.  We missed our episode drop date by 10 days.  That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.  It’s so much fun packed into a few short weeks.  Plus, the way the Festive Fans pine away for this holiday all year, we have to squeeze the most out of our season.  We’ve barely had time to make our Christmas lists.  You know that anticipation can sometimes make things better by building excitement before the event actually arrives.  So now that this episode is finally dropping, it carries th...

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Working in Alaska in the 1980s was no place for the fainthearted. It demanded perseverance and fortitude.  Work began before dawn.  The tasks were repetitive, backbreaking, and physical. Bears wandered close enough that you could hear their breath in the dark, or if the boom on the ship knocked you overboard, they weren’t coming back for you.  A seasonal job in the Alaskan wilderness reshaped you in ways that you couldn’t anticipate.  It was raw, demanding, and difficult.  But you also learned what it meant to be strong—and to be t...

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For this episode, the Festive Fans start the show feeling a little down.  Our current political landscape in the States has Bob upset with so many in the country living in a constant state of anger.  Then we travel to Colombia, a country with a notorious reputation from a vicious drug trade.  The 1980s and 1990s saw the rise of the infamous drug cartels, whose illicit activities have shaped perceptions of the nation worldwide for years. We also watch a film about a young man living in a homeless shelter in...

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The Festive Fans end their Creepmas in October with a review of the 2021 film “The Advent Calendar” and a salute to Belgium.  We also speak with Sabine Janisela, a diplomat at the Latvian Embassy, who helps us on our Piragi journey, offering both official cultural knowledge along with her own personal experience. 

The "Advent Calendar" is a horror film about a mysterious wooden advent calendar that intertwines the coziness of Christmas with a sinister twist. Each door offers to satisfy your deepest wish — at a terrible cost. While the movi...

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The Festive Fans are off to the “nicest place in the world”, a nation that looks like Christmas itself, with its pine forests, captivating snowfalls, and Hallmark worthy quaint little towns.  The people there are so friendly that the place is bursting with joy.  They even claim Santa as an official citizen.  Yes, that’s right, we are off to our neighbor to the north, Canada, to explore the other parts of the country outside of Quebec.  There’s a certain gentleness to it, a politeness that feels downright festive. Even their f...

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The Festive Fans take a thoughtful and enlightening journey to South Africa this episode to discover Christmas in a country still scarred by apartheid.  We tend to overlook how South Africa is a place of extraordinary beauty — with its Table Mountain, Kruger National Park, pristine beaches, and a rich array of wildlife.  Instead, we define it by its painful past.  By doing so, we discount this rich and diverse nation with 11 official languages and strong ethnic and cultural traditions.  The movie Liewe Kersfeesvader is a perfect reflection of South Africa.  While o...

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So this episode is late.  The Festive Fans had to attend a family celebration and a memorable party, but it was not Christmas.  It was a wedding, an event that is surprisingly similar to our favorite holiday.  They are both bright, warm, and full of promise.  I thought about this while sitting on a beach in the dark, meditating about life, in the moonlit shadow of a beautiful Chicago skyline. Also, I considered how a tuxedo was never meant to be worn in the sand.  

I sat there, half...

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We thought we could make a joke about what the Festive Fans have in common with this episode’s country.  We like to say it’s because we are tall and long, and we were surprised when our wives agreed, but they said we are tall on appetite and long on belt size.  Ha!  Well, it’s no joking matter, we are off to celebrate in the literal spine of South America – Chile!  It’s a land of beautiful contradictions—long but narrow, with icy glaciers and blazing deserts, where you can ski and...

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The Festive Fans decided to trek northeast to Greenland to see what the fuss was about.  We found an incredible place the land of the Vikings, filled with towering icebergs, spectacular fjords, incredible wildlife, and the Northern Lights.  OK, so now we get it.  

We also watched a Christmas film called Krudt and Kaerlighed (Gunpowder and Love) from 2019, we learned about some of their favorite holiday traditions, and we discovered a spotty history with the U.S., and maybe the reason why the Greenlanders aren’t so enthused with...

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As the wives of the Festive Fans know, the best Christmas gifts sometimes come in small packages.  The same can be said of this episode’s location -- Luxembourg.  This mini country is often overlooked and forgotten, as it is wedged in between Belgium, France, and Germany.  However, most Luxembourg residents are trilingual and they enjoy a multicultural history.  Plus, although it may be tiny, Luxembourg is one of Europe’s richest countries. We share a memorable visit there as Luxembourg provides a festive backdrop of dense forests, fairy-tale castles and cobb...

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And so it begins … in Estonia! 

We kick off the Festive Fans new season in this small but mighty Eastern European country.  Estonia is a captivating place with considerable natural assets, and, as Mark reminds us, feminine beauty.  Just ask him to name five models from there.  It is no wonder that our film addresses Estonians deep respect for the outdoors.  This is one of the most forested countries in Europe, with over half of its land covered in dense woods, scenic coastlines, and well-preserved natural areas.  

The be...

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Let’s face it, the Festive Fans have willingly talked about foreign Christmas movies twice a month for two years.  You might think that is celebration enough, and you would be right.  It definitely should be, but it’s absolutely not.  Because we also need to have an awards show, of course.  It has to be an over-the-top, completely unnecessary, gloriously self-congratulatory event at a local casual dining location to really capture the true essence of the holiday— serving, dining, and communal celebration.  And trust me, this is all better than the Tr...

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We’re sizzling all the way into a Festive Fans milestone moment — it’s our two-year anniversary and we’re inviting you to join the celebration!  

For 50 episodes, we've been traveling the globe and unwrapping the world’s best gifts -- Christmas movies, music, and memories found in so many different places.  We have visited nearly every continent and observed the unique traditions and customs found in other countries. It’s heartwarming to realize how, despite our language barriers and cultural differences, we all still enjoy a festive connection and...

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In the waning days of the old year, when the sun turned hot and the wind warm, there came word from the South Country. It was said that the Fellowship of the Festive Fans had a mission in the land of the Middle Earth. A spiritual quest was formed to find the Kiwi Christmas.

Could it be there, not in the cold hearts of the orcs and the trolls, but in the ordinary folk in the country and the cities?  Is it absent, scattered like starlight across the s...

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The Festive Fans take this episode to Ethiopia to answer that age-old question: “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”  Well, yes they do.  In fact, it’s a lot different than what you might imagine.  They like fasting, then eating, then playing a competitive field hockey game played like medieval combat.  It’s an ancient tradition carried on now with neighbor against neighbor or town against town.  Typically, it is played by men only, and it is supposed to be the game that the shepherds played the night that Jesus was born – “all...

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Join the Festive Fans for a little Pura Vida Christmas!  Tonight’s country runs on this magical motto.  After two years, we are finally making our way to Central America.  Our first stop?  We visit the beautiful, lush country of Costa Rica.  We promise that everything about it will bring a smile to your face, including our featured film from 2024, Paradise Falls:  A Christmas Story.  It’s a festive tale filled with dreams, wishes, ghosts, and a donkey … you know, just a classic Christmas story.  

And don’t be fooled by the...

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The Festive Fans are on spring break, so we are veering off our main road to take  a new scenic route.  Instead of exploring a foreign country this episode, we are setting the way back machine 65 years to a magical time of those grand scale, over the top, larger than life films, with a literal army of extras and actors who don’t just act—they command the screen. We are instantly being transported back to Ancient Rome to witness the Biblical drama of Ben Hur.  

Why, you might w...

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It’s time to grab all your ex-husbands and wives, strip down, and head for the sauna as Christmas is about to get messy.  The Festive Fans are traveling to the Christmas capital of the world this episode – Germany!  We are off to the original home to some of our most cherished holiday traditions.  Plus, as an extra bonus, we get to learn a lot about St. Martin (the patron saint of Germany) and his special day, so put that in your old shillelagh and smoke it, Saint Patrick.  

Join u...

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A talking dog?  A racing turtle?  Pizza with ashes?  A one-eyed bald man? What does this all have to do with Christmas?  

Find out this episode as we head out to one of the most biodiverse countries in the world to take on the Solar System or the Del Solar System.  From the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Rainforest, it is Christmas Eve in Peru -- a place with a colorful history and a fascinating civilization -- and the Festive Fans want to know how they celebrate.  Grab a hot...

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When a movie is titled “?”, what is it called?  Is it the symbol?  Is it the words “question mark”? Or, is it just the desire for knowledge and answers?  It is this and other questions that Festive Fans encounter on a visit to explore the rich vibrancy of the world’s largest island nation -- Indonesia.  We review a complicated film that has violence, anger, and prejudice, but also displays compassion, faith and brotherhood -- much like the country itself.  

The Festive Fans discover many such contradictions in this land of vo...

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The Festive Fans are travelling this episode to a locale that is not known as being either festive or much of a Christmas fan, but it is the cradle of civilization. It is the birthplace of the first laws, written language, rich history and archaeological sites.  It is Iraq -- a country that the U.S. has been fighting for more than three decades.  However, like the mythic Hatfield and McCoy feuding families, we often forget what initially led us down this path of combat.  It all started back in 1990, whe...

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The Festive Fans get knocked down by the stunning beauty of Latvia but get up again to enjoy the infectious spirit and irresistible charm of the 2022 film Circenisa Ziemassvetki.  We travel to the Baltic region this episode to explore a place we knew little about beforehand, a fact but that was never going to keep us down.  Latvia is Eastern Europe's best kept little secret -- with its Medieval architecture and castles, cobblestoned streets, sandy beaches, and lush forests.  It has a rich cultural history of singing, dancing, and feasting for...